


Landing in Faedell, A Short Story

by karlin_darlin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22363882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karlin_darlin/pseuds/karlin_darlin
Summary: A short story following Kohlee, a young magic user who has fell into another dimension. With the help of a few... interesting... people from this new world, Kohlee learns a little something about magic portals, mages, and spells, and makes some new friends a long the way.





	Landing in Faedell, A Short Story

Twigs crunched under Kohlee’s feet as they struggled to keep up with the elf walking in front of them. It was obvious that the path they were on was seldom used, for brambles seemed to catch their sleeves and pant legs every other step. Leafy, low-hanging branches momentarily obscured Kohlee’s view of their guide, to the point of them having to try and listen for her footsteps on the forest floor while also trying to keep up with her quick pace.  
“Would you-” They slapped a large leaf away from their face. “-slow down!” Kohlee spoke as loud as they dared. They still didn’t know where the mysterious elf girl was leading them, or if something (or someone!) nefarious lurked in the trees surrounding the small path.  
Kohlee got no response from the girl. She shot a sharp glare back at her unwilling travel companion, which got them to shut up, but they decided to job ahead and walk next to her. Kohlee was worn out at this point, having gotten themself stuck in a world that wasn’t their own, with an elf that’s tried to kill them and their friends. On multiple occasions.  
“Hush. We’re nearly there.” the girl said, pulling the wide brim of her large witch’s hat farther over her face.  
“Nearly where? You haven’t told me where we’re going yet! How do I know you’re not leading me to some sort of trap?” Kohlee nervously looked to the trees around the trail. The forest didn’t look any different from when they left the clearing, and that was hours ago. Who knows how far they had walked.  
The elf paused. She glanced Kohlee up and down from behind her wispy bangs before continuing. “It’s not a trap. Now hush.”  
Great. Being told what to do by some nutjob with a cape is so much fun. Kohlee wouldn’t admit to themself that they thought the cloak was actually pretty cool. It was easier to be sarcastic. Where are we even going? They thought. At least the elf girl’s pace had slowed, so Kohlee had the chance to walk and think. They didn’t speak again. Not because the elf told them to, no, but because there was a wicked-looking dagger strapped to the girl’s side in a small leather sheath. On top of that, she probably had all sorts of dangerous magic gear hidden in her satchel.  
The two trudged in silence for another half an hour before either of them spoke. Kohlee looked up as they walked, uneasy in the fact that they could see the sky darkening in between the thick covering of tree branches above them. Soft orange light began to speckle the sparse underbrush and highlight Kohlee’s scuffed-up sneakers as they made their way through the trees. As they turned their attention away from the ground, the light glinted off of something on the elf girl’s hat that caught Kohlee’s eye.  
“Why do you have a moon charm on the tip of your hat?” they asked. They almost reached out to touch the small trinket, dangling from the velvety material of the girl’s hat, but wisely decided against so. The elf whipped her head around to look at Kohlee, eyebrows pulled together in a snarl.  
“Nevermind then, jeez. I was just wondering.” The girl’s snarl dissipated as she turned forward again, but Kohlee knew she wasn’t in the best of moods. She had tugged her cloak tighter around her shoulders, trying to cut off any further conversation. She sighed and laid her arms back at her sides.  
“If you really must know, it was my mom’s charm. She gave it to me before I left home.” Kohlee could barely hear her over the rustling of their feet.  
“And why a crescent?”  
“She follows Artemis,” she stated, giving Kohlee a slightly confused look that said, Why else would it be a moon?  
The path had widened just enough that Kohlee could walk next to the girl without slamming their shoulder into trees, or getting raked by low branches.  
“Hey, that’s cool. Sorry for, uh, startling you. It’s a neat charm,” Kohlee said, carefully stepping over a large mushroom that had grown over the edge of the trail. “I really didn’t mean anything by pointing it out,”  
The girl glanced down at the mushroom, and then back at her prisoner- ah, “travel companion”. She didn’t seem too unhappy. That relieved Kohlee. The last thing they wanted was an angry magic elf lady. Kohlee stuck their hands into their jeans pockets and kept watching the ground as the two picked their way along the overgrown trail.  
“It’s- fine,” she finally said, sighing. “It’s just-”  
A small snap! Ahead of them interrupted her. She put one slender hand up in front of Kohlee, staring into the dim forest. Kohlee reached for their wand in their back pocket, but refrained from revealing it just yet.  
“Bree? Is that you?” A small voice rang out from the forest ahead. The elf girl- Bree, Kohlee presumed, dropped her shoulders and let out a small breath. She pulled her hand back and kept walking.  
“Yea, I’m here,” she responded, turning to Kohlee with a finger to her lips. “Hey, don’t freak out, I have someone with me.” An uncomfortable silence followed. Kohlee tried to meet Bree’s eyes to try and silently ask what the hell she was taking them into, but Bree remained facing the voice.  
“Can they… hear me?” the voice asked, quieter this time.  
“Yes. They’re not a threat,” Bree answered, turning to Kohlee just enough so that they could see her roll her eyes. At the voice or at them, Kohlee didn’t know.  
“O-okay. Bring them in.” The voice hesitated. “Around back, though. Don’t want to scare Old Fart.”  
“Sure,” Bree called. She started to step forward before turning back to Kohlee. She waited until she heard a faraway door close before continuing. “Stay behind me,” she whispered. Kohlee nodded and followed Bree close behind as they walked down what they assumed was the end of the trail. The path was a bit more clear now, with less brush blocking their way. Kohlee could see a clearing up ahead, and the corners of a few small buildings. They even thought they caught a glimpse of an extremely large cat, but it disappeared before they could catch another look.  
Bree led Kohlee in between the last few trees at the edge of the clearing. She turned towards a low, gray-bricked building on the edge of what seemed to be a sprawling village, hidden away in the forest.  
As the trees thinned, Kohlee tried to straighten themself up. They adjusted their t-shirt, brushed the dirt and burrs off of their jeans, and ran their fingers through their floppy green hair a few times, hoping it wasn’t too terribly dirty. What if they met someone important? Kohlee wanted to look put-together, no matter how nervous they really were. Before they got to the building, Kohlee paused next to a rather large maple tree. They took a moment to run their fingers along the rough bark, tracing the long lines that reached up to the tree’s branches.  
Bree looked over her shoulder at Kohlee when she heard them stop walking. She had already stepped up to the small back door of the building and was waiting for them to catch up.  
“I’m coming,” they said, sighing and pushing away from the tree’s trunk. It had a kind of homey feeling to it, a cozy aura that reminded Kohlee of the tree behind their house back home. Many summers were spent up in its branches with their best friend Oliver, playing cards or tossing twigs at their other friend Mina. She usually sat at the base of the huge tree, spelling away the sticks that they had charmed to tap her on the head over and over. Remembering their friends gave Kohlee the bit of confidence that they needed to step up to the wooden door.  
Bree nodded. She quietly took off her pointy hat before reaching out to turn the tarnished silver doorknob. Kohlee noticed Bree was wearing multiple rings on each of her fingers; none were set with any stones, but each had tiny, intricate carvings. The setting sun made their metal shine as Bree’s hand wrapped around the doorknob.  
The two stepped into what looked to be a small stock room, every possible inch covered in stacks of boxes and books. A wooden desk was tucked into the corner, its surface cluttered with open books and sheets of yellowed paper. Bree led the way, placing her hat on top of a large book titled-  
Encyclopedia of Man-Eating Shrubbery? Kohlee quickly realized all of the books were of a similar nature, with titles like Potions for Pavlovian Pegasi and Healing Runes for Beginners.  
Ooh, Oli might like that one, they thought. Oli loved to enchant runes. Maybe I could ask to-

Kohlee was snapped out of their absentminded thinking by a bright overhead light being turned on. Blinking hard against the glaring light, Kohlee looked around for who turned it on. They assumed it was the same person Bree was talking to while they were leaving the forest. When their vision cleared, Kohlee could see the owner of the voice they heard earlier. Kohlee’s eyebrows shot up when they saw her, but at this point, they should really stop being so surprised when magical people in a magical world looked, who would have guessed, magical. The girl that stood with her hand above the light switch seemed about as shocked as Kohlee did.  
Or maybe that’s just how her eyes look! Don’t be rude, Kohlee thought to themself. They couldn’t help but be interested in the girl’s features, though. Her tan, round face held wide brown eyes; and they were surrounded by dainty white freckles that almost gave the impression that they were painted on by someone with the world’s steadiest hand. Above her eyes, thick brown hair was styled into soft bangs, the rest pulled back in a loose braid that shone in the bright light. Kohlee could see fuzzy downward-pointing ears poking out from the girl’s hair, twitching as she noticed Kohlee looking at her.  
Most interesting to Kohlee, though, were her beautiful antlers. They curved outwards from the top of her head, ending in multiple small, dull points. Tiny blooms dotted her prongs, leaving Kohlee to wonder whether they were accessories or if they grew there naturally.  
Bree cleared her throat. Kohlee turned towards the elf, away from the deer girl on the other side of the room.  
“Hey, June. This is Kohlee.” Bree pushed Kohlee’s shoulder a bit, perhaps in an attempt to be playful. “I found them out in the Faedell woods, and I need help to get them back home to their world.” What she didn’t say was that she was trying to relax on a hike when somebody decided to come through a portal and land on her hat.  
June contemplated this for a moment, looking from Bree to Kohlee and back a few times. Finally, she took a deep breath and stepped forward, away from the wall.  
“Hi. I’m Juniper. It’s… nice to meet you,” she said, hand extended in front of her. Kohlee stepped around the small table in between them.  
“Hey. I’m Kohlee.” They tried to speak as soft as possible. They gave her hand a gentle shake, thinking about how soft the girl’s hand was. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”  
Bree glanced over a few of the large books that lay open on the table. Cloth bookmarks stuck out of their pages in a seemingly random pattern. She carefully lifted a few pieces of parchment from the table and looked to Juniper.  
“What’s all this? We had the whole stockroom organized a few days ago.” June looked upset for a moment, but her worries dissipated as she energetically responded to Bree.  
“It’s my new project!” she explained.  
“Oookay… and would this new project have anything to do with that cute dryad you met last week?” Bree said, with one eyebrow raised. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Kohlee had no clue what they were talking about, but they could tell just from watching the two of them interact so lightheartedly that they were very close friends.  
Juniper flushed a deep red. “Maybe… but it doesn’t matter right now,” she said. She took her stack of parchment from Bree, shuffled all of it into a neat pile, and tucked it behind the cover of one of the books on the table.  
“So, what’s up with… with-” June started.  
Bree nodded to Kohlee. “Them,” she said.  
“What’s up with them?”  
Kohlee shifted on their feet. They still felt as though this could be a trap. But that deer girl doesn’t look like she could hurt anybody, they thought. Maybe it’ll be alright.  
“They got stuck on our side of a portal that they somehow ‘didn’t open,’” Bree said, punctuating her explanation with air quotes and a glare in Kohlee’s direction. “I found them in a clearing half a day’s walk south of the river.”  
“Found? I-” Kohlee tried to interrupt. Bree tried shushing them, small blotches of pink rising to her cheeks.  
“I kinda fell on her. The portal spat me out up in a tree,” they finished. They looked Bree in her sharp gray eyes. “I’m sorry about your hat, by the way.” Kohlee motioned to her large hat sitting by the door, a noticeable crease running up the side.  
Bree quickly looked to her hat, but rolled her eyes and turned back to June. “Whatever. We need to get them back home. Do you think you could help?” Juniper thought for a moment, mentally tracing her way through the library’s shelves, trying to remember anything about tree-portals. After a moment she looked to Kohlee.  
“I sure can try.”

Kohlee sat sprawled over a large green armchair in a quiet corner of the library’s upper level. Juniper had been throwing question after question at them to try and figure out what kind of portal they fell through, and how to open it again to get them back.  
June herself sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by boring, dusty volumes of portal theory. Open on her lap was a large book called “Blinking- Not Just For Your Eyes!” by Taako Taaco, the world-famous wizard chef that Kohlee had never heard of. June was thumbing through its glossy pages, trying to ignore Kohlee’s incessant tapping on the chair arm.  
“Do you think you went through the astral plane?” She asked, reading through Sir Taako’s description of the spell Blink.

“Um, I don’t think so?” Kohlee said. They glanced over June’s page for a moment, resting their head on their hand. “Like I said, I was in the woods in my world, moving some rocks behind me and my friends’ fort. I tripped over a root and slammed my back into a tree. The tree kinda… I don’t know…” they wiggled their fingers. “Shimmered? And then I crashed into Bree. Who nearly killed me, by the way!” They looked pointedly to Bree, who was leaned up against the windowsill, twirling her wand around her fingers.  
“What? I said sorry,” she responded absently. Her attention was focused outside, on the rippling grass and quiet trees.  
Juniper sighed and closed the book. She set it on top of the pile to her left, stacked high with failed encyclopedias and useless spellbooks. “It’ll be alright,” she said, “I’m sure we’ll find something. Has anyone you know ever done this kind of thing before?”  
Kohlee stared daggers at Bree. “Well, one time, my friend Marina fell through a tree, and then Bree almost killed her.”  
“I did not!”  
Kohlee snapped. “You fried her leg! Do you know how long that took to heal? Do you know how much she cried when Oli and I had to undo the damage that you’d done?!” They were sitting straight up now, as if a rod had been stuck in their back; their knuckles white as they gripped the arms of the chair.  
“Hey, I was scared. I didn’t want to actually hurt her!” Bree snapped back.  
“Well, maybe if you-”  
“Guys!” Juniper squeaked. That was the loudest Kohlee had ever heard her speak, and she looked ready to cry. “If you guys don’t shut up, we’ll never find Kohlee a way home.”  
Kohlee sat back in the chair.  
With a flick of her long braid, Bree crossed her arms and turned toward the shelf of scrolls next to the window.  
After a moment, June felt she could speak again. “Where did your friend fall through?” she asked softly. She gave Kohlee’s sneaker what she hoped was a reassuring pat from her position on the floor.  
“It was in the same clearing that I fell through, but I’m not sure if we popped out in the same place over here.” Kohlee picked at their chipping fingernail polish. “Mina, Oli, and I were practicing some spells when she just... disappeared.” They gave a halfhearted laugh. “I nearly broke my hand punching the tree she fell through.”  
June’s eyes flicked from Kohlee’s hands, to the book that sat closed in her lap, and back up to Kohlee’s light green hair, made gray by the evening sunlight filtering through the small window. She sighed and shook her head. The tiny blooms dotting her antlers twinkled in the same spot of fading light.  
“That wasn’t wise,” she said.  
“I guess it really wasn’t, was it?” they said, staring at their nails. June watched as Kohlee’s eyes softened, lost in thought.  
The heavy book in front of June caught her attention once more. Its cover was coated in a thin layer of gray dust, save for the small fingerprints from when June pulled it off of its shelf. The spine was cracked and its title faded, just barely alluding to the book’s contents. June could sit in this library for hours, just staring at the books and the stories within them. She couldn’t lose herself in stories this time, though. She didn’t know how long she had to get Kohlee home. Before they couldn’t get home.

June pored over the book’s crackling pages for a short while, occasionally pausing to mark a paragraph or quote with thin woven bookmarks. She didn’t know if any of the information she was marking was important. She just had to feel as though she were making progress, however small.  
The quiet intermittent turning of pages was the only sound for a while. Bree had her forehead pressed against the windowpane, the cool glass soothing the headache that the day’s ordeals had given her. Many times she sat up her, surrounded by books, the only thing on her mind what her and June were eating for lunch, or what she’d learn from the books next. Maybe today she’d learn how to get rid of a bothersome green-haired wizard. Afterwards, perhaps she could learn how to get creases (caused by said wizard) out of her hat.  
Eventually, Kohlee grew tired of the silence. They stood up to stretch, cautious as to not knock over any books. The quiet library was calming, sure, but it wasn’t getting them any closer to home.  
Oli’s mom was supposed to have made chili! I hope I haven’t missed dinner, they thought. Kohlee didn’t know whether time passed the same in this world as their own. It’d be rude to ask Bree for some food, wouldn’t it? They laughed inwardly. She’d probably poison it, anyways.  
Kohlee started to pace around the small room. It wasn’t that it was a small room, it was just full of overflowing bookshelves and crowded desks. They stopped to read some of the book titles, absentmindedly wondering about the stories inside. The books weren’t organized in any way that Kohlee could recognize, with no Dewey decimals, alphabetization, or any other sort of labelling system to speak of.  
Some of the shelves didn’t even have books. Aged scrolls stacked into rows filled two whole floor-to-ceiling shelves. Kohlee didn’t come by scrolls very often in their own magic studies, so their interest was held for a few moments by the scrolls held in ornate metal cylinders.  
They contemplated their chances of getting home before dinner for another 37 steps (yes, they counted) before they could hear Juniper stop turning pages. June stood up so quickly she almost knocked over her nearly four-foot-high pile of books, and narrowly avoided sticking her antler into the wall sconce. Kohlee saw her face light up as she shoved a large book into Kohlee’s hands.  
“Look, I think I found something! Read here,” she said, pointing out the start of an old magicks study. The study took up a whole chapter of its own, explaining the finer details of emotion-powered spells and intricate ritual circles pertaining to transportation of people and items. June looked to Kohlee, her wide eyes twinkling. “Maybe one of these spells could get you home! You’d have to power the spell with some pretty strong emotions, sure, but from what I’ve seen, you’re a very passionate person, so that shouldn’t be too difficult!”  
Kohlee skimmed over the journal pages, trying to absorb as much of the basic concepts as possible before turning back to June.  
“You really think it’ll work? But what if… I… I mess something up?” they said, handing the book back to Juniper. They hoped there weren’t laws in this place about unpredictable wizard kids that mess up portal spells. A lifetime of fantasy jail in another world didn’t necessarily appeal to them.  
June quickly marked the spell’s page and shut the book. “If we do it right, nothing should go too terribly wrong. If anything were to happen, though, I’m fairly confident that you, Bree, and I could handle it! She’s really good at fixing other people’s messes,” she said. “I know she’s helped fix mine too many times.”  
Hearing this, Bree looked over at the two of them. “Are you sure that this mushy-feely stuff will actually make a portal to another world? And why do I have to be a part of it?” She looked to June and nodded her head at Kohlee, as if to say, ‘Why should I help this loser any more than I already have?’  
Meanwhile, Kohlee was scrambling to pull their sweatshirt back on after grabbing it from the back of the armchair. “C’mon, you’ve helped me so much already,” they said. “Imagine the chaos I’d have caused by now if you hadn’t brought me here.” They nudged Bree’s side with their elbow. In a mock sing-song voice, they said, “I could even fix your hat for you! I think I have a spell for that.”  
Bree slapped them away and adjusted her cloak, which she was still wearing even though they were nice and warm inside of the library. “You can fix my hat? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier when you smushed it?” she said.  
“To be fair, I thought you were going to kill me.” Kohlee said.  
“You have a point.”  
“Hey, why couldn’t you have fixed your own hat? Aren’t you a witch?” Kohlee pointed to Bree’s wand that was sticking out of her belt.  
“I’m a mage, there’s a difference!”  
“Whatever, witch girl.” they said, rolling their eyes and turning back to June. She had taken out a few sheets of parchment and was taking notes on the runes they’d need for the spell. Kohlee tapped her on the ear and said, “June, how long does the spell take to cast?”  
June stopped for a moment with her ear pressed back, obviously startled.  
Kohlee stepped forward. “Oh my gods, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think-”  
“No, it’s fine, I just-”  
“I should have known not to just touch someone’s ear like that. I’m so sorry.”  
They offered their hand to June, and she took it and let them help her stand up. She reminded herself that Kohlee isn’t from here, they’ve probably never met a deer girl before. They didn’t know. It’s okay. Kohlee had no way to know that deer ears were overly sensitive.  
“Uh... it says here that it could take up to three hours. You know, to get the emotions flowing.” She held the book up to Kohlee. They carefully took the heavy book. After reading over the line that June was indicating, they set it down and said,  
“Then we should get started. I’ve got chili waiting at home.”

“This doesn’t look right,” Bree said. Standing on a mossy gnarled tree stump, she was holding open the large spellbook in her arms. She was comparing the spell circle Kohlee had drawn in the dirt with the hand-inked illustration on the book’s page. The circle itself was fine, Kohlee had told her that they’d drawn plenty of ritual circles before. It was their runes that were the problem. Bree didn’t know why they were giving Kohlee so much trouble. They weren’t that difficult. Bree had mastered drawing this alphabet of runes before she could even read!  
“Back off, okay? I’m trying my best. I’m just used to different runes,” Kohlee called to Bree, squinting at the symbols at their feet.  
“They need to be curvier, your writing is too pointy,” she said. Kohlee groaned and used their heel to scrub out the symbol they had been writing. At this rate, they could have filled a library’s worth of books with the runes Kohlee’s erased and redrawn.  
The spell’s instructions weren’t too terribly complicated, but each component had to be perfectly specific. A large circle was outlined in the dirt to encompass all of the defining runes for the spell. Runes could be enchanted onto stones for small-scale work, but many spells, like this one, require all of the spell’s runes to be drawn together on the spell surface. Each of this particular spell’s runes described what the spell was supposed to do, and to whom. Almost a quarter of the spell was dedicated to describing the whole of Kohlee as a person, to make sure that they didn’t fall apart while they traveled between worlds. The rest of the symbols that lined the inner edge of the circle described the world Kohlee was exiting, where they were supposed to end up, and security measures to protect the integrity of the resulting portal.  
If the security runes were to be omitted, anyone (or anything) could intercept the portal and knock it off course, steal it and use it for themselves, or just destroy it entirely. Luckily for Kohlee, Bree made sure every protection rune was perfect.  
“This is south, right?” Kohlee asked. They stared at the horizon above the trees, still unsure of which way the sun had just set.  
“You’ve been a wizard for how long and you still don’t know your cardinal directions? How pathetic.” Bree flipped a page in the book and looked down at Kohlee.  
“I have issues, okay? Is this south or not?”  
Bree looked over at them again and sighed. “Yea, that’s south.”  
“Thank you.”  
Kohlee continued to count paces around the spell circle, pausing every few steps to tweak a rune with their wand. After each rune was drawn and charged, a personal circle had to be made in the very center of the spell circle. That focused the spell onto one small area, and drew power from the person inside. June had told Kohlee that the stronger the emotions they felt while charging the circle with magic, the stronger and safer the spell would be.  
“Okay, I think that’s it. How’s it look, Bree?” Kohlee carefully stepped away from the circle to inspect their handiwork.  
Bree hopped off of the stump and gently set the open spell book on top. She then walked ever so slowly around the circle, checking Kohlee’s runes. Kohlee couldn’t help but be reminded of homework being graded by a stern teacher at school.  
I’m so glad I’ve only got one year of high school left, they thought. Then I can finally study magic full-time with Oli and Mina!  
“They’ll do. Really, what do they teach you in your world that you manage to mess up your own name runes?”  
Kohlee scowled at Bree. “They don’t teach me anything. Who’s they?”  
Bree waved her hand at them. “Oh, you know. Academy? School for magic?” She stopped to look at Kohlee.  
They shook their head. “Where I’m from, school is just to learn numbers, how to read, how to get a job, that kind of thing. Magic isn’t normal there.”  
“That would explain your shoddy rune-writing,” she scoffed.  
“Hey, June said we had to be nice to each other.”  
“I don’t have to be nice to you if I don’t want to. June’s not my boss.”  
Kohlee put their hands on their hips. “Yea, but at least I’m trying to be nice. If she’s not your boss, why is she telling you what to do?”  
“I listen to her because she’s my best friend,” Bree said.  
“Oh, okay then.And my rune-writing isn’t shoddy, I think they look great.” Kohlee gestured at their spell circle.  
“Whatever,” Bree pulled her hat lower over her eyes and went to sit back on the old stump.  
Now that the runes had been drawn, all that was left was to power them up. June had told Kohlee to wait for her before they charged the circle, though, because she had something to give them before they did the spell and left this world.  
Kohlee took a step back and looked around the clearing that they had set up the spell in. It was rather small, not too far from the library and the center of the village. It wasn’t much to look at, just some dirt and a stump or two around the edges. It gave way to tall, leafy trees that gave the clearing a sort of roof made of branches. Kohlee contemplated the trees, the dirt, all of the natural things that seemed so normal in a world that so wasn’t. They pulled out their wand from their back pocket.  
“Hey, how powerful is the magic around here?” they asked Bree. She looked up at them from her seat on the stump.  
“Uh… the normal amount? What do you mean?” She shrugged.  
Kohlee sighed. “Like, where my friends’ and I’s base is, the magic is more powerful than anywhere else in town. The magic that comes from the air, the ground. The magic.”  
“Considering how utterly un-magical your world is, I’m surprised you have any power at all. I have no clue how much magic there is there compared to how much we have here.” Bree said. She pulled her own wand out of her belt and stood up, adjusting the silver bracers she wore on both of her wrists.  
“We could test it, though.” She looked around the grass until she found a rock about the size of her fist. After picking up the spellbook and moving it out of the way, she set the stone on top of the stump’s knotted wood.  
“What… kind of test? I’d rather not take a quiz today.” Kohlee walked over to where Bree was standing, curiously eyeing the rock she set up.  
“It’s not a quiz, idiot. What I’m going to do, is I’m going to cast a spell on the rock to send it as far into the sky as I can. After it comes back down, you try and do the same thing. It’s less destructive than, say, a duel.” Bree paused and then pointed to the sky. “And there’s no dragons this far north this time of year, so you don’t have to worry about hitting anything with the rock.”  
“Dragons?!” Kohlee exclaimed.  
“You don’t have dragons, either?” Bree said. “No academy, no dragons, no nothin’. Wow, your place must be super boring.”  
“Tell me about it.”  
Bree stepped back ten paces, keeping her feet far away from the ritual circle Kohlee had just finished drawing. “You ready?”  
“Sure, why not. Let’s see what the all-powerful mage Bree can do,” Kohlee said, crossing their arms.  
The clearing went quiet. Bree pointed her wand at the rock, her rings sparkling from their places on her slender fingers. She moved her shoulder slightly, took a deep breath, and aimed. Suddenly, she flung her arm upwards and a burst of bright blue light surrounded her hand. Kohlee watched as the rock flew high into the air, vanishing beyond the treetops and into the sky beyond. After what seemed to be forever, Bree brought her wand arm back down and aimed it at the stump. The stone came whizzing down from the thin clouds above and slammed into the center of the stump.  
Bree stepped forward and picked up the now-warm rock. It left behind a round hole in the wood a few inches deep.  
“See, easy! Now you try,” she said.  
There were small wisps of smoke rising from the dent Bree made in the stump, and Kohlee’s eyes followed them up into the air before they disappeared.  
“Yea, I got this,” they said. Ten steps back. Eyes locked on the rock, which now sat back in its place in the wood. Wand up. They held onto the enchanted crystal set into the base of the wand, gripping the spot where crystal transitioned into wood.  
Bree burst out laughing. “What kind of a wand is that?” She pointed to it and scoffed. “Seriously, where did you get such a hideous thing?” she asked.  
“Shut up! I made it myself!”  
She laughed even harder. “A child could have done better than that!”  
“I even enchanted the crystal on my own before I set it, so back off.” Kohlee put their arm down and growled, “Great, now I’ve lost my concentration.”  
“Sorry, sorry. Please, show me what you can do with that.” Bree waved her hand at Kohlee for them to continue. She sat down in the grass, looking amused.  
Kohlee turned away from her and tried to focus on the rock. The stupid magic rock on a stupid magic stump. They could feel the crystal in their hand warm up as they powered up their wand, concentrating all of their attention into the spell they were trying to cast. Energy flowed through their arm, just like every other time Kohlee used magic. Drawing on the deep well of power they felt in the core of their consciousness, Kohlee cast out the energy on the stone and sent it flying into the air.  
They let out their breath. Staring at the sky, Kohlee refused to lower their wand until they felt the stone leave the range of their spell. One. Two.  
Three!  
They slammed their arm downwards to bring the rock back down, and nearly threw their wand into the dirt.  
Bree didn’t have very high expectations for an annoying wizard that had no formal education and an arts-and-crafts wand. She watched Kohlee throw the rock into the air, paying special attention to the colored glow that came from their wand’s crystal. She looked from the crystal to the gleam in Kohlee’s eyes and back a few times, trying to process the vibrant color within them.  
A magic user’s color determined what kind of magic they possessed, or used. Bree’s was a sharp blue for the cool-headed magic she drew from the earth and moon. June’s was a warm green, which meant she dealt with nature and the magic of plants and animals. Her glow wasn’t very bright, though, because she didn’t really ‘practice’ magic other than being a magical creature. A person’s colors were usually predictable based on their upbringing and personality. Someone’s color could be guessed pretty easily. Bree watched as Kohlee’s irises and wand hand glow a strong violet. Even Bree didn’t know what purple meant, and she was the top of her Magical Abilities and Their Manifestations class.  
The rock came hurtling down through the leaves overhead and struck the middle of the stump, right where the dent Bree had made was. Kohlee stared at the stump, startled by the sheer force they used to send the rock barrelling into it. They stepped forward the ten paces and looked down into the old wood. Kohlee’s eyes were met with a jagged hole where the rock should have been.  
“What the heck was that, Kohlee?” Bree ran over and stared down into the hole. Kohlee ignored the fact that it was the first time Bree actually used their name instead of just saying ‘Hey, you!’ or ‘Hey, stupid!’ and reached down into the stump.  
They braced their arm against the edge of the stump’s surface and wrenched out the hot, dirt-covered rock. They tossed it between their hands for a moment before dropping it to the ground as to not burn their hands.  
“Wow,” Kohlee said. They looked to the rock on the ground in front of them, and then stared at their hands in wonder.  
“Wow is right! You obliterated that stump! Are you sure nobody’s taught you anything?” Bree poked at the still-smoking tree stump with her wand a few times, peering into the small splintered pit Kohlee had made.  
“Yea, I’m sure,” Kohlee said. “See, I’m not as weak and lame as you thought I was!” They tried to twirl their wand around their fingers and promptly poked themself in the eye with it.  
Bree scoffed. “Just because you’re competent enough at magic to throw a rock around doesn’t mean you’re not lame,” she said. She poked fun at Kohlee to cover up the fact that she wanted to see more of what they could do. They were more powerful than even they realized, and it only took a day in the magic realm to show it! Bree was thoroughly impressed.  
“Seriously, where did that even come from?” Kohlee asked. “I swear I haven’t done anything like that before.” They tucked their wand back into their pocket, stepping back over to the circle. “I should be able to power the runes easy peasy then, right? Because I’m all cool and powerful here,” they said.  
“Um, yeah. Those runes’ll take you anywhere you want to go with that much power,” she told them. She was still staring at the rock, laying in the dirt.  
Kohlee walked around the spell circle to check their runewriting again. “At least I don’t have to worry about that,” they said. “I don’t want to cast the spell and end up in the middle of the ocean or something.”  
“What’s the problem with that? Water is nice,” Bree said, shrugging.  
“I literally live about as far from the ocean as possible. Plus, Mina’s the one who’s good with water, so if she’s not there, I’m screwed.” Kohlee finished tweaking a rune for the millionth time and took a step back to stand next to Bree.  
Bree gave them a friendly shove. “What, you’re afraid of a little water?”  
“A little? Do you guys even have proper oceans here? Do you know how much freaky stuff hides in deep water?” Kohlee pushed her back.  
"Well duh, we have oceans. Although the creatures that live in our waters are probably scarier than yours."  
Kohlee coughed. "There's some pretty weird stuff at the bottom of our oceans, they might rival yours."  
"Oh really?" Bree asked.  
Kohlee jostled her again with a smile. "I'd draw you some of our sea monsters, but I'm not very good at drawing. They'd probably just end up looking like mutated platypus babies."  
"Plata… what?" Bree looked at Kohlee, eyebrow raised.  
"Eh… it doesn't matter." Kohlee said. They weren't going to spend all night explaining to an elf what a platypus was. "Hey, where's Juniper?"  
Bree shrugged. Her movement made the beads strung along the brim of her hat bounce. "No clue. She should be back by now, though. Her house isn't that far from here."  
Kohlee looked to the path at the edge of the trees where June had walked off over an hour before. They wondered what the houses looked like in this world. Were they sprawling underground mansions with grassy garden roofs, or were they tiny ivy-covered cottages like something out of a storybook? Did anyone live in tall wizard's towers with spiraling staircases and tangled vines? Kohlee tried to imagine what kind of house June would live in, even though they didn't know her that well.  
She probably lives in a cute little cabin covered in flowers, they thought. She seems to like plants and things, so she'd probably also have a big garden and tons of fruit trees. Wouldn't that be the dream!  
"Do very many people live here?" Kohlee said, turning to Bree. June had mentioned somebody named 'Old Fart' earlier. They hoped it wasn't an elderly magic policeman that would throw Kohlee in jail for invading their quiet village.  
"No, not very many. I think this past winter we counted about 80 people, including creature-people like June. Why?" Bree said.  
"Oh, no reason. I just haven't seen anybody other than you and June. Like, who’s Old Fart?”  
Bree looked confused for a moment before bursting out with laughter. “You heard June earlier? Psh, Old Fart is just what she calls my cat,” she said between breaths. “His real name is Barley.”  
“Barley?” Kohlee shot her a teasing smile.  
“Hey, I was like ten! I thought he looked like a bunch of barley brushes. Cats are allowed to be named after grains, you know.  
Kohlee giggled. “Yea, I know. At one point I had a cat named Cornpuff.”  
“Really?” she said. “Cornpuff?”  
“Don’t be mean! I didn’t make fun of Barley,” Kohlee said.  
“You did too. So it’s only fair I get to make fun of Cornpuff.” She said ‘Cornpuff’ in a higher-pitched, mocking tone. “Was he an itty bitty fwuffy cat? Or was he a chunky kitty?” The mocking voice continued.  
“Shut up! She was all yellow and had a big fluffy tail, so I named her after corn… puffs… that I was coincidentally eating for breakfast when she showed up.” Kohlee pushed Bree’s shoulder lightly.  
“Corn-puff~”  
“Hey, I wasn’t a very imaginative kid, all right? At least it’s a better name than Barley.” they said.  
“Barley’s a nice name. He’s just not a nice cat.”  
“Sounds like someone else I know.” Kohlee teased.  
Bree glared at them and twirled her sleek silver wand around her fingers a few times. “He’s pretty grumpy. When you heard June talking about Old Fart earlier, It makes sense that she didn’t want us coming through the front door. He likes to sleep on the steps.”  
“Oh, I would never want to offend our dearest cat friend Barley, now would I?” Kohlee said sarcastically.  
“Are we talking about Old Fart?”  
Kohlee nearly fell over, startled by the voice that had appeared behind them and Bree. They steadied themself and saw June standing next to Bree, her antlers shaking as she failed to hold in her laughter.  
“JUNIPER WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME I NEARLY DIED!”  
Bree was cackling at Kohlee’s extreme expression, patting June on the back. No doubt that Bree saw June sneaking up behind Kohlee to startle them.  
“That was great!” Bree exclaimed. “You should have seen the look on your face!”  
Kohlee rolled their eyes at her. “Hey, you could have at least warned me that she had gotten back!” They dusted off their jeans, trying to scratch off the pine sap that had gotten stuck to their leg.  
“And miss that? No thanks.” Bree paused and stepped over to Kohlee. “You really need to start being more observant, though. Like, what if it wasn’t June behind you, and you got stabbed because you were too busy talking about Cornpuff the cat to pay attention?” She poked them in the side to make her point.  
“Then I’d die as I lived–”  
“Being dense?”  
“–talking about cats.”  
“Suuure.” Bree was really starting to get on Kohlee’s nerves. Before they could do anything about it, though, June tapped them on the shoulder. She was holding a small package in her hands, a brown paper rectangle tied with an off-white twine. Tucked under the crossing of the twine was a small note, and a tiny bundle of what appeared to be sage and apple blossoms. June held the package out to them.  
“Here. I know it’s not much, but I wanted to give you something to remember us by when you go home.” Kohlee took it from June’s small hands and turned it over, observing the careful precision of the wrapping. They began to pull at one of the strings. “No, not now.” she said. “Open it when you get back.”  
Kohlee had only known the two of them for the better part of a day, (excluding when Bree almost killed Mina) but it felt like they’d been friends for a lot longer. June’s soft voice and strong emotions, Bree’s harsh stare and playful banter, Kohlee started to think that they would actually miss this place. Maybe someday they could figure out a way to travel faster than a complicated rune circle, so they could come visit with Mina and Oli.  
“Well, that’s all I have for you. Do you know how to power the runes?” June said.  
Kohlee nodded. “I think so.” they had spent so long studying the spell with her, so they were pretty sure they knew what they were doing. They would step into the caster’s circle in the center of the ring of runes to be able to charge the spell. Then they would channel their strongest emotions and give all of that energy to the runes, making sure to keep enough energy for themself in order to stay awake and stay alive as they passed between worlds.  
The emotions were the most important part of the spell, the power behind the magic. A spellcaster’s emotions are like strong tools that need to be regulated and sharpened to harness their full potential. Kohlee knew they weren’t the most stable of magic users, they hadn’t even had any sort of formal training, but they were counting on the strength of their memories with their friends to bring themself home safe.  
“You ready?” Bree asked. Her arms were crossed, but her eyes didn’t hold their usual cold glare. They seemed softer, somehow.  
Kohlee sighed. “Yeah.” They looked around the forest for a final time, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time they saw it. It was fascinating and beautiful, in its own way. “Thank you, guys… For everything.”  
Bree watched as June pushed forward and gave Kohlee a tight hug, nearly poking them in the eye with her antlers.  
June wasn’t usually a very touchy person, so Bree just stood back and let them hug. She kept getting surprised by Kohlee every passing moment. From their unexplainable magic to getting June to open up like that, they were an… interesting person, to say the least.  
With the deer girl wrapped around their waist, Kohlee didn’t really know what to do. They had no idea whether this was a normal thing for June or not. They decided to just give her a gentle pack on the back, careful to avoid her antlers and large ears. June pulled away with a small smile.  
“No problem,” she said softly. She turned to Bree, motioning for her to step forward.  
Bree stuck her hand out in front of her, not showing any intention of moving from her place. Kohlee noticed the hand she offered was the one lacking any sort of jewelry. Regardless, they shook her hand. Her hand was startlingly warm. They were expecting her to have cold hands.  
“Thanks for not killing me,” they told her. Bree shrugged and tilted her head to the side.  
“I wasn’t going to kill you. Don’t count on it staying that way, though.” Kohlee hoped she was joking. With a slight, reassuring smile, she said, “Don’t be too afraid of us that you won’t come back once and a while. We’ll be here.”  
Kohlee nodded to both of their new friends and stepped into their caster’s circle. The runes surrounding them started to hum in anticipation for the spell, vibrating through the ground and into the soles of Kohlee’s shoes.  
They looked to each of the runes in turn, pulling as many good memories from their brain as they could. The bold laughter of past April Fool’s pranks blended with heartfelt conversations of quiet Christmases, which flowed into warm embraces from friends and family alike. Although, the line between “friends” and “family” was quite blurred. Their friends were their family.  
The faces of the people that Kohlee cared about most flashed through their mind. Oliver’s curly brown hair, Mina’s bright blue eyes, even bits and pieces of their online friends’ features. All of these combined welled in Kohlee’s thoughts, pressing behind their eyes in a not-so-unpleasant way as they cast the positive energy onto the circle. Every rune began to glow as they were charged, a strong purple that Bree had recognized earlier as unquestioningly powerful.  
Finally, the whole circle beamed with magic. Bree and Juniper cast long shadows across the smooth dirt, their faces illuminated in the dark clearing by the runes.  
Kohlee stood in the caster’s center circle and looked up. June’s tiny flowers on her antlers seemed to dance in the runelight, and she smiled her small smile at them. Bree gave them a tiny wave, her silver rings sparkling.  
A dense fog seemed to overtake the clearing. It made the air dim, getting darker every passing second. Kohlee’s view of their guides in the mysterious magic world was obscured by thousands of thin streams of light that cut through the fog, straight up into the sky.  
The air got darker as the runes glowed brighter.

They couldn’t see their new friends.

Then, the clearing was gone, and so was the blinding runelight.

~

Kohlee opened their eyes. They were laying on their back in sparse grass.  
Did it work?  
Dappled sunlight fell on their face from in between the branches of the trees above. They shot up into a sitting position and whipped their head around. Large gray rocks and soft moss surrounded them in the woods that they had landed in. To their right, a small wooden cabin stuck out of the nearby clearing.  
They let out their breath. The complicated rune spell had worked.  
Or… did it? A sudden fear arose and tightened in their chest. What if it was a dream? they thought. Maybe I hit my head on a tree, and Bree and June don’t even exist.  
Hand on their forehead, they stood up.  
Thump. Something fell to the ground.  
It was a small brown package, tied with coarse white string.  
Kohlee laughed out loud and picked up the package. They were relieved that it had made it through the portal undamaged.  
The afternoon sun shone warm on their back. The fact that the sun was halfway down the western sky concerned Kohlee. Was it the same day that they had left? Was it the next day? A year later?! They didn’t know how differently time passed in the magic world.  
Kohlee carried their present from June and Bree to the fort. As soon as they opened the old metal door, the familiar smell of dust and herbs greeted them. Oli grew ingredients for Mina’s potionmaking in a small garden in the clearing. In the corner, tightly tied bundles of plants hung from the low rafters where he had set them to dry.  
On the other end of the small cabin, a cot sat under the only real window. The cot’s surface was covered in soft quilts and heavy comforters, dragged from Oli and Mina’s houses. Although, technically, Oli’s house was Kohlee’s house too, because they lived with him and his mom.  
They pushed aside a few of the blankets and sat down. The thin mattress made its quiet creak that Kohlee had heard so many times before as they settled themself against a throw pillow. On their lap sat the package that had travelled with them across dimensions.  
First they ever so carefully untied the knotted twine wrapped around the crinkling paper. The twine was wound up into a small ball and put on the wooden side table. They would find a use for it some other time.  
The flowers were somewhat of a mystery. They would have to ask Oli what they meant. Setting them aside, they unfolded the note that was underneath, written on clean white parchment.  
“To Kohlee-”  
How did they know how to spell my name?  
“To Kohlee. Thank you for visiting, even if it was accidental. It was the most exciting day we’ve had in months! Once you learn how to do the portal spell on your own, you should come back sometime. We promise Bree won’t try to kill you again.”  
Kohlee scoffed.  
“-Anyways, we hope you enjoy our gift. Don’t forget us!  
From, Juniper and Bree.  
P.S., You have more power than you realize. Use it wisely.”  
The signatures at the bottom of the tiny piece of parchment were written in shimmering blue ink. Just another magical shenanigan Kohlee didn’t know how to do.  
Unless… it’s just regular glitter ink? They looked at the note closer. Nah, they’re too dramatic for that.  
They laid the unfolded parchment on the small side table. Next to it sat the bundle of flowers, still fresh and fragrant. How much time had passed when they went through the portal? Would the flowers stay fresh forever, because they were from a different world?  
We should really get a clock in here, Kohlee thought. I don’t want to have missed chili night. Oli never leaves any leftovers.  
Last but not least was the package itself, in Kohlee’s lap. They peeled back the speckled brown paper, unfolding the squashed rectangle that wrapped… fabric? Inside the package was something made out of a violet felt-like material. They picked it up out of the paper, confused as to what it could be.  
As it unfolded in their hands, Kohlee recognized the gift as a large, unadorned witches’ hat, not too dissimilar to Bree’s. This hat, though, was a dark purple rather than silver-woven blue, and was missing her crystals, beads, and charms. Kohlee would have to start collecting their own charms.  
When did they have time to get me a hat? they wondered. Perhaps it was a spare, lying around in the library. Nonetheless, it was a very thoughtful gift. The fabric of the hat was a desaturated, almost maroon color, reminding Kohlee of ripe plums. Its brim was wide enough to shield their eyes from the sun without flopping over. On the inside of the hat, the folded-over cone shape of the pointed crown was lined with a soft, silky black fabric.  
If I’m wearing this, I’ll never forget them. Two strangers, one of which they’d had some serious conflicts with in the past, found the kindness to help them get home, without any promise of a reward. And they sent Kohlee home with a heartfelt gift! They didn’t know such unfiltered compassion like that still existed.  
They wondered about the magical world while looking over their gift. How similar was the magic world to their own? Did it have a name?  
It really was a beautiful place. They admit to themself that they wanted to go back, for longer than a day. They wanted to see more of the mythical realm. Meet more magic folk, learn about the culture, perhaps learn how to control some of their magic while they’re there. Would Oli and Mina want to go?  
They probably still hate Bree for what she did to Mina. Kohlee frowned at their new hat.  
Of course, Bree would have to apologize. She didn’t intend to hurt Mina, but that doesn’t mean that Mina wasn’t hurt. Her burns on her leg were healing for weeks because of Bree’s spell, they thought. But, if they met her again, really met her, they’d probably like her.  
They sighed and set aside the hat. It would probably take a while to warm up the gang to the idea of visiting the magic world on purpose, which meant Kohlee’s chance of seeing their new friends any time soon was slim to none.  
Oli wouldn’t take too long to persuade, he liked making friends. Bree would probably end up scaring him half to death at some point, though. He was wound up tighter than a three-day clock, and ready to bounce at any time.  
Mina would take the longest. She was fairly trusting, but she held grudges. She had really been hurt, and she wasn’t afraid to cut people off if they hurt her or her friends. Kohlee just hoped that Mina wouldn’t slip Bree an ill-intentioned potion. Nothing lethal, of course; she wasn’t a murderer. She was known to prank people with her magic brews, though. Kohlee had orange eyebrows for two weeks after they stole one of Mina’s fancy makeup brushes.  
Wait, how will June react to new people? Who knew if she could handle meeting two new humans at once. Especially ones as bold and excited as Mina and Oli. Kohlee hoped Bree could help in that regard. She could warn her, somehow? They didn’t know the extent and limitations of June’s bashfulness.  
Maybe a few letter exchanges were in order. Surely sending a letter through a portal across dimensions would be easier than sending a person.  
I’m a genius, they thought. Their friends could meet and talk through letters before going to the other world! They could easily get Oli and Mina to write a few letters.  
This is going to be fun. Now they had a new ‘project’ to work on, and a portal spell to research. They had been sitting around the fort without much to do for the better part of a month, so a change in pace would be well received.  
The hat, flowers, and note got carefully shoved into Kohlee’s backpack. They always brought their bag to the fort; it held snacks, books, and whatever random things they decided to decorate the fort with. Half the time the bottom of their bag was littered with iridescent enchanted crystals, whether they be completed projects of Kohlee’s or works-in-progress.  
They tied their burr-covered hoodie around their waist and shouldered their bag. No matter how much they wanted to, they couldn’t spend all night at the fort.  
The air in the clearing was pleasantly warm when Kohlee stepped outside. A bit unusual for Minnesota this time of year, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. A few warm days weren’t anything to complain about. They pulled the old door shut with a creak and a soft click. The trees had ceased their rustling, as the afternoon breeze had faded away.  
Patchy grass shifted under Kohlee’s feet as they made their way toward the road. The familiar trees lining the small trail kept them company on the half-mile hike through the woods.  
Climbing over the well-worn fallen log that always blocked this part of the path, Kohlee thought about the portal spell. They couldn’t possibly remember all of the runes that they used to get home. Where would they find any sort of research on rune circles? They didn’t think the local library had any arcane textbooks.  
Whatever. It didn’t matter right now. They would get help from Mina and Oli, to communicate with the magic world and visit their new friends. Kohlee knew they could count on the gang.  
Soft footsteps filled Kohlee’s ears on their way home. The cracked sidewalk stretched out in front of them, as far as they could see. One, two, three turns, over a hill, and to the sixth house on the right-hand side of the street.  
They could smell the chili already.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real short story! I hope you enjoyed it. I spent about three months writing this and editing to get it just right. Stay tuned for my next story with the gang!  
> <3


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